My son has a 1972 Nova he just put a new engine into and it's not running as fast as he thought. It is pretty much a L-82 engine from a corvette gone through. Balanced, blueprinted, and bored .030 over with flat top pistons. He has a Comp Cams xtreme energy 268 cam with .477/.480 lift and on top has a holly dual plane hi-rise with a holly 650 double-pumper. We found some 1 5/8 dynomax long tube headers and I bolted my old thrush glass packs to them. He's running the stock TH-350 and a 3.42 posi 8.5 10-bolt with 9x26-15 slicks. the car weighs about 3300lbs w/o driver. The first time he took it out, he ran a 14.52@93mph. We've been reading articles in some magazines and have seen cars with similar engines running better times. He thinks it's the heads and is thinking of the 58cc aluminum L-98 corvette heads or the vortec heads. He's bummed since his friend has a prelude that is faster but I don't want him to become one of those Ricer-Boys.

what convertor do you have in the car? a torque convertor can make or break any combo. pretty mild gears for a 350 with that much cam in that heavy of a car. with that lift you'd be borderline on being able to use the vortec heads without modifying them to accept larger valve springs, but you'd probably pick up at least 40hp or more with them if your heads are factory 624's or 882's. the gain in compression alone would be worth 15-25hp, not to mention the vortecs flow considerably better than any other factory castings. but if you have to buy them new for $500 then have them machined and buy new springs you're looking at $700-$800 and you can buy a set of Dart Iron Eagles for under $900 and they are much beefier and will be able to support more power in the long run if you modify the engine even further. .02 ;)

another thing, don't believe everything the magazines say either, they have been known to be chronic liars.

big thumbs down on glass packs...probably costing 20-25HP

If you are running the stock L82 heads, there's your problem. My combo is extremely similar to yours...2000 stall, 3.42 gears, 355 with 9.5 compression, Comp XE262 cam, Performer RPM, Holley 650 #4777. I ran 14.40 at 93mph with the stock heads. I changed NOTHING except swapping the heads for a pair of Dart Iron Eagle 180's, and now I run 13.70's at 97-98 mph on average, with a best of 13.65 at 99mph.

I'd stay away from those L98 Corvette heads, they really aren't that great. The Vortecs would be a massive improvement, although you have to buy a new intake to use with them, and you may have to modify them a bit due to the high lift on your cam. It may be just as cheap to go with the Dart IE's. But either way, with Darts, Vortecs, or some other modern cylinder head, you will go very near 13.00 at over 100mph in that Nova...you are a good 300lbs lighter than my car.

One more thing...that may be too much tire. I have found that my car will ET better with 215-60R15 street radials. I think with 2000 stall, overcoming the inertia of those big old slicks may just take too much horsepower for a little 350.

There is a 2000rpm stall on the trans. Also, are the dart iron eagles better than the vortecs when using some happy juice (150 shot)?

the dart heads have a 3/4 inch deck on there iron heads can take alot of abuse .just get a vortec hot and see if the thin casting will hold up.if i was going to change heads i would also change to a solid lift cam

I bought the vortec head kit from scoggin dickey,,,heads(z28 springs),intake,bolts and gaskets for less than 850.00, bolted them on my sons 355(flat tops with 4 valve reliefs) with a Lunati Bracketmaster II cam(.480 lift) this setup in my sons 81 chevy pickup short wide bed,close to 4000 lbs, and 4.11 gears has run a best of 13.54 @ 98 mph with 2.0 60ft times.

I am able to get a pair of some 200cc/64cc Dart Iron Eagles with 2.05/1.6 valves for a smoking deal. Any input???

they might be a little big for the current combo of parts you have, but i bet they'll pick it up a bit from where you're at now, definitely on the midrange and highend, and since they are closed chambered they will raise the compression up a bit too, which in itself could make a noticable difference, IMO.

There are some dart iron eagle 180cc heads for sale at a local speed shop. The only thing is that they are 49cc 2.02/1.60 heads. I don't know if the comp. ratio would be too high or we could put thicker head gaskets. Engine is a zero decked 355 w/flat tops if you forgot.

Dave
Im near you if you want I will ask a friend who works at a chevy dealer what kind of deal he can get on the Vortec heads. email me if interested link is on my web page

check the shift points of the trans. Usually a stock trans will shift too early for a modified motor. You can recalibrate the governor with a spring and wieght kit to allow later shifts and keep the motor in its power band.

Originally posted by Dave_Rivera:
There are some dart iron eagle 180cc heads for sale at a local speed shop. The only thing is that they are 49cc 2.02/1.60 heads. I don't know if the comp. ratio would be too high or we could put thicker head gaskets. Engine is a zero decked 355 w/flat tops if you forgot. Dave,
The compression will be a tick over 12.0 with 49cc heads with a zero deck & .040 gaskets. Might be a bit high :D

Is there any input on the dart iron eagle angled plug heads? I heard that there are some heads out there that require special headers to clear the spark plugs and also to be able to change them w/o having to unhook the headers? Does anybody have these heads, and how do they combine with regular long tube headers on a 72' nova???

A little help would be great!!!

I agree that the heads are the problem.

50cc chamber heads are way too small with flat tops.As Wolfplace said,compression issue.

Stay away from Angle plug heads on a mild combination like that.It just adds unnecessary problems and questions.

GET RID OF THE GLASS PACKS!!!
Run a 2 1/2 inch exhaust with turbos or Flow Masters.

Get a slightly higher 2400 stall converter.It will place the launch RPM in the cams powerband and drop the 60ft's.
And trust me,a 2400 stall with that gear is very easy on the street.

Intake runner on I.E. 200' too big for such a mild combo.They should be used with a bigger cam,more stall,and more gear on a 350.Or simply get more cubes.

I think a pocket ported I.E would be better with juice.

??? What Holley intake doe's your sone have??
Give the part number.

A shorter narrower slick would probably work better.
Look for something shorter to get a higher RPM through the lights.
M/T makes a 24.5x8-15

Example,my 1979 EL Camino;

355
10.2:1
S/R Torquers 202/160 Pocket ported
HYD Cam 278 221 467 110
Performer RPM
650DP
MSD Ignition system
1 5/8 headers
TH-350 Trans-Go Stage II shift kit

With a 2400 CTI converter and 3.42's.It would dead hook with a 26x8.5-15 M/T slick at 15 pounds air pressure.
It clearly didn't have enough gear or stall.
It ran 13.01 at 104 with a slipping trans and 3.42's.

A 72 Nova has more weight on the rear tires and would be able to hook with less slick than my EL.

You said your sons TH-350 is stock.If it is get a shift kit.That's an easy ET reduction and it will help the trans last longer.Do not get a B&M Shift improver Kit!
Trans-Go stage II is the way to go.